Blessed Dalmatius Moner

This Dominican Blessed, who was noted particularly for his observance of poverty, lived in the early years of the Order and helped to establish the high reputation of the Spanish religious.

Blessed Dalmatius was born in Aragon, in 1291, and we know nothing else about his life before he entered the Order. He was a member of the province of Aragon and gave a perfect example of strict observance of the rule and the spirit of religious detachment from things of earth. All that we know about him, are a few anecdotes, none of which can be fixed with certainty as to date or place.

We read that his spirit of poverty was so extreme that he never wore a habit or cappa that was not in tatters. He picked up his wardrobe from the cast-offs of his brethren, and, since the spirit of poverty was quite rigid in this providence, the cast-off clothes must have looked a sight. Dalmatius seemed to make a virtue of this, since all the records we have make mention of it. As to food, he never ate fish or eggs, and lived on a diet of hard bread and unseasoned vegetables, to which he added a few ashes during Lent. The beds in the house were hard enough for most people, but not for him. He slept on the bare earth when he could not get into the church to pray and take an occasional nap, his head rested on the altar step.

Dalamtius is credited with several miracles, which included healing and spiritual assistance. At one time, a novice was tempted to leave the Order. Dalmatius, going about it without being told, sought out the novice and solved his difficulties. At another time, a mother whose small child had a serious eye disease came looking for Dalmatius to heal her child. The friar refused, because, he said, this affliction would save her child from serious sin, and that God was waiting till some time in the future to heal him.

During the last forty years of his life, Dalmatius lived in the cave of Saint Mary Magdalene, in the south of France, where he had gone on a pilgrimage of devotion. Here he was favored with numerous ecstasies and great spiritual insight. One time, while he was in the cave, a group of friars from his own province where lost in the woods in a bad storm. They prayed to him to help them, and a young man came with a lantern and guided them home.

Dalmatius died in his own convent in the presence of all the friars and provincials who had gathered for a chapter. He was declared blessed in 1721.